I have Smith I/O goggles. I second those who've recommended the Smith Blue Sensor Mirror (70% VLT) as a low-light lens. For "mid-light" I have the Igniter Mirror (35% VLT), and for big-sun days I use the Green Sol-X Mirror (15% VLT). Having three lenses sounds like overkill, but I pick one to put in the goggle frames in the morning and carry the one "next" to it, in case the light changes much during the day.

Now, a partial thread hijack: I don't really like carrying a lens in just the cloth bag and sticking it in my pocket. It's just a matter of time before I fall on it, or someone whacks me in the lift line, and the lens cracks. Has anyone seen a single lens case that is small enough to fit in a ski jacket pocket (or camelback pocket) and offer some impact protection for the lens?

If you carry a lens in a case, you might as well carry a spare goggle. It's faster to switch too. That's why I think that interchangeable lens googles are only good for travel. Otherwise there is no real advantage over having two goggles, one for bluebird, another for a storm day.

On my recent trip to Big Sky I kept a spare Smith I/O goggle lens in my jacket pocket. I did change the lenses a few times and while it did take about an extra 60 seconds to 90 seconds it was not that big of a hassle. I was worried about the lens getting messed up in my pocket, but nothing bad happened and I stopped noticing that the spare lens was even in my pocket after a short time. The hardest part was handling the lenses without touching the inside surface with bare fingers.

So far, me too. Maybe I should put the lens in the micro-fiber bag, put that in a woolen sock, then stop worrying about it until/unless I take a fall or hit and the lens breaks.

Quote:

Originally Posted by alexzn

If you carry a lens in a case, you might as well carry a spare goggle. It's faster to switch too. That's why I think that interchangeable lens googles are only good for travel. Otherwise there is no real advantage over having two goggles, one for bluebird, another for a storm day.

I agree that's an option -- but I just got the I/O goggles last year and don't want to give up on them yet -- how long does it take to amortize $200 (counting the third lens)? Also, as I noted, with the I/O, I have three different levels of lenses-- even though on any given day the third option is back in the condo.

I do wear my glasses skiing, but invest heavilly in my lenses and get those ones that are ultra-light, ultra-clear, super-strong and both scratch-proof and anti-glare. There are a couple different brand names, and they are expensive as hell, but they are worth it to me.

I just started to ski with a tinted pair of glasses (very light shade of yellow) inside a clear lens and find that I am much happier with that than I was with my old amber goggles. I think you get more light entering the eye, but at the same time the little bit of tinting translates into less strain to focus. Just something to consider.

I like the Anon Hawkeye with Blue Lagoon lenses. They work well for me in most conditions, including flat light. That being said, I am not a fan at the end of the day in lower light. But I don't know any goggles that I like at the end of the day.

I read some years ago (when xenon headlights were first appearing in cars), that our ability to gather light is halved by the time we are 40, and it halves again by the time we are 60. And that's for normal healthy eyes. While I can't vouch for the veracity of the article, it seems that older skiers need every bit of help they can get for flat light days.

For many years I've carried two pairs of goggles with me on the hill, one pair for sunny days and one for overcast/snowy days. I'm very tempted to change that habit however, after my wife bought the latest pair of Scott interchangeable lens goggles. The best and fastest changeover I've seen yet, with no nasty fingerprints left on the lens after the change. The spare lens is held safely in a semi-solid, but not bulky holder which slips unobtrusively into an inner jacket pocket. Both flat and sunny lenses work great for her (and for me when I tried them). They are less bulky to travel with than two sets of goggles, less bulky in my jacket pocket, there is less chance of breaking the spare goggles in a crash and they are ultimately less costly than two pairs of goggles. Time to change.

I read some years ago (when xenon headlights were first appearing in cars), that our ability to gather light is halved by the time we are 40, and it halves again by the time we are 60. And that's for normal healthy eyes. While I can't vouch for the veracity of the article, it seems that older skiers need every bit of help they can get for flat light days.

I presume you are joking but, having used night vision goggles while driving tanks, I can tell you they don't help much with lack of contrast. There are two types, generally. Light amplification which are useful when the moon and stars are out to give some light. Even in flat daylight you won't be able to see due to brightness - too much light. You'll see better in the dark but probably not enough to ski. And then there is IR. Since you are not likely to carry your handy IR spotlight around with you on slopes they won't help you at night and all you'll have to see by is whatever portion of sunlight is in the infrared spectrum (or, more likely, which portion of that portion your IR goggles can detect).

To be honest, I think us old guys are just screwed. I have had some improvement for night driving using these silly things:

I was recently in the market for new storm day goggles, and I picked out the Smith IOX with the red sensor and blue sensor mirror lens. The blue sensor is for low light days.

What I didn't notice in the store, but became immediately apparent when skiing, is that the lens has a color shift in the upper part of the lens. So when I was bashing through the crud, and my head bobbed up and down a little, my view kept changing for yellowish to bluish (top part of lens). I found this extremely annoying. Fortunately the shop let me return the goggles.

I ended up getting the Giro Onset with Persimmon Boost lens. What I liked about the goggle in the shop is that a lot less vision is cut off around the nose compared to Smith and Oakley. Also they have good peripheral vision without being gigantic on my face. I haven't skied them let, but I am heading up to Targhee tomorrow, and the forecast is for snow everyday.

Originally Posted by AlpineBoy
...What I didn't notice in the store, but became immediately apparent when skiing, is that the lens has a color shift in the upper part of the lens. So when I was bashing through the crud, and my head bobbed up and down a little, my view kept changing for yellowish to bluish (top part of lens). I found this extremely annoying. Fortunately the shop let me return the goggles...

This is an excellent observation, and one of the reasons I really push our clients to take the goggles outside in natural light, and if it is a multi-lens design, to try ALL the lenses before they hand over their pennies. The issue you experienced due only to the crazy dielectric mirror that more and more manufacturers are using simply because it looks cool.

As seen from the outside, the colors in the mirror change from center to edges. Remember cause and effect though. That mirror isn't just reflecting a rainbow of colors off the skiers face back to you...it's also reflecting multiple frequencies of light away from the skier's own eyes at the same time. This leads to variable color casts when looking through different parts of the lens - as our above user discovered firsthand.

In short, if the lens you like has no mirror, your outward view will be a consistent color throughout your field of view. If it has a single color mirror, this will darken the lens to a degree, and also tend to alter the color perception through the lens itself (as a general rule, cool colors like green, blue and purple mirrors will give the highest perceived contrast on the mountain.) If your goggle mirror looks like Rainbow Brite, the Care Bears and a herd of My Little Ponies had an all night glitter orgy...you may not care for the visual experience that lens offers. This is true for ANY goggle lens manufacturer and ANY tint density or color. (Yeah, I just said that. And yeah, I frightened myself a bit just now as well!)

Can't really stress enough that your skiing experience will always be better if you can try before you buy. Make sure your goggle and it's lens(es) are meeting your personal needs.

If your goggle mirror looks like Rainbow Brite, the Care Bears and a herd of My Little Ponies had an all night glitter orgy...you may not care for the visual experience that lens offers. This is true for ANY goggle lens manufacturer and ANY tint density or color. (Yeah, I just said that. And yeah, I frightened myself a bit just now as well!)

Uilleann, I love your posts. They are easily the most entertaining and educational in the goggle/lense discussion. Thank you, I'm still laughing

I hope you won't laugh or tell me to stop skiing. I have skied my whole life and have to ski or die. Problem was/is: my eyesI Last season I fell due to low light conditions and broke my pelvis. Obviously, I can't do that again. That is why I am spending time online looking for goggles from people who ski. From now on, my skiing future will depend on goggles which work in various conditions.

To begin: I am a very small female, 5'2", 110 pounds, small head and almost non-existant nose bridge. Children's' glasses and hats fit me. That means medium or large goggles will not fit. I wear a Giro helmet, worn twice, just before the pelvic break.

I have 20/20 eyesight but my eyes are extremely sensitive and can barely tolerate bright light and glare. Flat light is a greater concern after the fall on flat ground.

Various Epicski threads have indicated that Smith I/O lenses (color? mirrored?) or Oakley (HI yellow lens) work well in low light, but do either work well in bright sun and glare? I will change lenses if I must.

I hope you won't laugh or tell me to stop skiing. I have skied my whole life and have to ski or die. Problem was/is: my eyesI Last season I fell due to low light conditions and broke my pelvis. Obviously, I can't do that again. That is why I am spending time online looking for goggles from people who ski. From now on, my skiing future will depend on goggles which work in various conditions.

To begin: I am a very small female, 5'2", 110 pounds, small head and almost non-existant nose bridge. Children's' glasses and hats fit me. That means medium or large goggles will not fit. I wear a Giro helmet, worn twice, just before the pelvic break.

I have 20/20 eyesight but my eyes are extremely sensitive and can barely tolerate bright light and glare. Flat light is a greater concern after the fall on flat ground.

Various Epicski threads have indicated that Smith I/O lenses (color? mirrored?) or Oakley (HI yellow lens) work well in low light, but do either work well in bright sun and glare? I will change lenses if I must.

Thanks for your advice,

annmarie

annmarie,

Welcome to EpicSki

Sorry to hear about your fall, flat light is tough for me also

You will need to have multiple lenses, one for flat light and one for sunny days

The IO/X allows lens changes easily so this is not too big of an issue

You should try them on with your helmet before you purchase to make sure they fit you face and over you glasses if that's your preference

I have 20/20 eyesight but my eyes are extremely sensitive and can barely tolerate bright light and glare. Flat light is a greater concern after the fall on flat ground.

Various Epicski threads have indicated that Smith I/O lenses (color? mirrored?) or Oakley (HI yellow lens) work well in low light, but do either work well in bright sun and glare? I will change lenses if I must.

Welcome to Epic annmarie.

You're looking for one lense from flat light to bright glare it seems. That doesn't really exist, you'll have to change lenses. A lot of it is personal preference. Some low light lenses let in more of one spectrum color than another. Smith sensor mirror red vs sensor mirror blue vs sensor gold let in roughly the same amount of light but have a different color look. I can't stand a blue oriented lens as an example.

Do a search for that topic - smith red sensor, here there's a whole thread. Sounds like face fit is as big an issue too.

I would call the number a few posts above for @Uilleann 's shop and get direct advice that works for you. That would be the quickest.

Smith I/O goggles have a retention system that makes lens swaps super easy. The I/OS as markojp recommended above are their version for smaller faces, and the alternative fit has more foam across the nose bridge.

If the extra-thickness foam is still not enough, you can buy some foam insulation strip with adhesive backing from the hardware store for under $10 and add it to the goggles.

I just started to ski with a tinted pair of glasses (very light shade of yellow) inside a clear lens and find that I am much happier with that than I was with my old amber goggles. I think you get more light entering the eye, but at the same time the little bit of tinting translates into less strain to focus. Just something to consider.

+1... Transitions Drivewear under clear goggles has been outstanding for me.

I hope you won't laugh or tell me to stop skiing. I have skied my whole life and have to ski or die. Problem was/is: my eyesI Last season I fell due to low light conditions and broke my pelvis. Obviously, I can't do that again. That is why I am spending time online looking for goggles from people who ski. From now on, my skiing future will depend on goggles which work in various conditions.

To begin: I am a very small female, 5'2", 110 pounds, small head and almost non-existant nose bridge. Children's' glasses and hats fit me. That means medium or large goggles will not fit. I wear a Giro helmet, worn twice, just before the pelvic break.

I have 20/20 eyesight but my eyes are extremely sensitive and can barely tolerate bright light and glare. Flat light is a greater concern after the fall on flat ground.

Various Epicski threads have indicated that Smith I/O lenses (color? mirrored?) or Oakley (HI yellow lens) work well in low light, but do either work well in bright sun and glare? I will change lenses if I must.

Thanks for your advice,

annmarie

annmarie,

Welcome to epicski! You'll never get laughed at here unless you ask us to laugh at you. Many of us have taken tumbles and some have been for no apparent reason!

I too have an issue with bright light and flat light. The flat light part has more to do with my age though. Bright light has always bugged me. A few years back on a sunny day I was wearing Oakley's Hi Intensity yellow and it caused a clump of yellowish snow (no not from Huskies but from a Groomer) to be camouflaged and I fell as I didn't see it. Tore my rotator cuff.

One of the things I realized in my pursuit of the perfect lens was find out there isn't a perfect all condition lens just like there isn't a perfect all mountain ski. It's always a compromise. So I bring a couple pairs. I also did quite a bit with POC goggles. Mostly because I have a POC helmet but also because you can get replacement lenses without breaking the bank. I bought several different colored lenses to see which worked best. If you do some searching at this site on the subject, you'll find out that different colors work with different people. I also would use a clear lens during flat light if it was bad enough.

My HS daughter is slightly smaller than you and wears POC Iris in small and they fit great.

This season I won a pair of Zeal Eclipse goggles with Automatic Polarized lens and have been happy with it. It does change with the light and is pretty close to an "All Mountain" goggle but they're pricey (glad I won them). I also like the POC Iris 3P. I like the Iris and they come in small. medium and large. These two I consider my general purpose goggles and ski mostly in them. I usually have my clear goggles with me just in case and I keep them in my bag for night skiing.

I believe Oakley carries an Asian Fit. That might work for you too.

Some days I just have to slow down and lift my goggles.

I really recommend you be willing to have a couple pairs and possibly one being a clear lens. You don't have to spend big money but anything you spend will be cheaper than your co-pay was for you fall. I don't much care for constantly swapping out lenses but changing out goggles isn't that much of a hassle.

I hope you won't laugh or tell me to stop skiing. I have skied my whole life and have to ski or die. Problem was/is: my eyesI Last season I fell due to low light conditions and broke my pelvis. Obviously, I can't do that again. That is why I am spending time online looking for goggles from people who ski. From now on, my skiing future will depend on goggles which work in various conditions.

To begin: I am a very small female, 5'2", 110 pounds, small head and almost non-existant nose bridge. Children's' glasses and hats fit me. That means medium or large goggles will not fit. I wear a Giro helmet, worn twice, just before the pelvic break.

I have 20/20 eyesight but my eyes are extremely sensitive and can barely tolerate bright light and glare. Flat light is a greater concern after the fall on flat ground.

Various Epicski threads have indicated that Smith I/O lenses (color? mirrored?) or Oakley (HI yellow lens) work well in low light, but do either work well in bright sun and glare? I will change lenses if I must.

Thanks for your advice,

annmarie

You will have to change lenses, but modern goggles such as Smith I/O make it pretty easy. I would strongly recommend at least trying the I/OS, that sounds like it will fit you quite well. My pre-teen daughter loves it, and it comes with two lenses, one for normal conditions, another for low light. Not super-cheap but actually quite reasonable for a high end goggle. Give StartHaus in Truckee a call and see if you can get one at their 60% off sale (if they have any left, yesterday goggles were going pretty fast).

Not really going to add much to this thread but on my most recent ski trip, while waiting for our table for dinner, I wandered into a sports store to look at goggles for exactly this topic. Late season the selection was awful. But the gentleman running the shop caught my attention. Clearly into his 50s with bright blue eyes - someone with the same problem as all us old guys (well, the same vision problem anyway). So I asked him what he used for flat light days (he was well familiar with the advancing age issue for flat light) and he said that his CURRENT favorite was the Oakley Hi-Yellow. BUT!!!! The lens Oakley is introducing for the coming ski season (should be out in the stores in the late summer or fall of '14 according to this gentleman) was a BIG, nearly unbelievable, improvement in his opinion. He'd tested them at some sports or ski equipment exhibition and said he'd had no hesitation recommending them and he'd be switching.

Our discussion was a bit more involved than the above summary and, while not nearly as detailed as this very interesting thread, rapidly covered the highlights here. Which is all to say this this particular gentleman seemed welled versed in this topic.

Not really going to add much to this thread but on my most recent ski trip, while waiting for our table for dinner, I wandered into a sports store to look at goggles for exactly this topic. Late season the selection was awful. But the gentleman running the shop caught my attention. Clearly into his 50s with bright blue eyes - someone with the same problem as all us old guys (well, the same vision problem anyway). So I asked him what he used for flat light days (he was well familiar with the advancing age issue for flat light) and he said that his CURRENT favorite was the Oakley Hi-Yellow. BUT!!!! The lens Oakley is introducing for the coming ski season (should be out in the stores in the late summer or fall of '14 according to this gentleman) was a BIG, nearly unbelievable, improvement in his opinion. He'd tested them at some sports or ski equipment exhibition and said he'd had no hesitation recommending them and he'd be switching.

Our discussion was a bit more involved than the above summary and, while not nearly as detailed as this very interesting thread, rapidly covered the highlights here. Which is all to say this this particular gentleman seemed welled versed in this topic.

I was skeptical about the new Oakley lens, but I have now had multiple sources tell me that it's the real deal. Definitely looking forward to trying it out,

BTW. I understand the I/O suggestions. But compared to other companies quick change systems, it's really kind of a joke.

If you carry a lens in a case, you might as well carry a spare goggle. It's faster to switch too. That's why I think that interchangeable lens googles are only good for travel. Otherwise there is no real advantage over having two goggles, one for bluebird, another for a storm day.

This ^^^^. Changing lenses always sounds great on paper or in a video. But think about when and why we do it. Is it in your room before you leave for the slopes? Nope. It's in the middle of a great after lunch run. But the day's clouding up, snow's starting to to fly, temps dropping. Flater light. Time for light amber or red tints. Hmmm. So stop somewhere, take your hands out of the warmth of your gloves, unzip, find the little plastic gems, fumble with the little doo-hinkies that allow you to get old lenses out and new lenses in, discover that the notches never seem to align right on slope, drop one or more lenses in the snow, get your already very cold fingers frozen finding them, repeat until the insides of the new lenses are suitably wet so they'll fog nicely, and all you care about is getting down to the distant lodge and having a beer.

Compared to just pulling off your goggles, slap on the spares, re-zip pocket.

This ^^^^. Changing lenses always sounds great on paper or in a video. But think about when and why we do it. Is it in your room before you leave for the slopes? Nope. It's in the middle of a great after lunch run. But the day's clouding up, snow's starting to to fly, temps dropping. Flater light. Time for light amber or red tints. Hmmm. So stop somewhere, take your hands out of the warmth of your gloves, unzip, find the little plastic gems, fumble with the little doo-hinkies that allow you to get old lenses out and new lenses in, discover that the notches never seem to align right on slope, drop one or more lenses in the snow, get your already very cold fingers frozen finding them, repeat until the insides of the new lenses are suitably wet so they'll fog nicely, and all you care about is getting down to the distant lodge and having a beer.

Compared to just pulling off your goggles, slap on the spares, re-zip pocket.

^^^^ You're right. I'm bitter because I've had several different brands that fought my numb fingers to a standstill, seen the same with friends, and better, broke the little sliding do-hinkie on a nice expensive pair of Smiths with polarized lenses. Solution: Crazy Glue. And no more interchangeability.

Do not know about magnetic, but would worry about losing them in a fall. Or having them rip off at speed on a windy day.

My own current solution is photochromic. Have a pair of POC's right now that cover pretty decent range of light, although like most of those, biased toward bright. Not as good as two separate lenses. But don't have to tinker with them. And if it looks like the weather is gonna change, I carry that extra pair of near transparent others just are not gonna do...

This is one place where I think motorcycle helmets with real visors win. A ski helmet with a light rose 3/4 visor and sunglasses inside. Yep.